The present invention relates to an adapter freely mountable onto and dismountable from an information apparatus to be used in the information apparatus as well as relates to a memory card and a memory unit, which includes the memory card and the adapter for accommodating the memory card in such a way that the memory card can be mounted onto and dismounted from the adapter with a high degree of freedom. More particularly, the present invention relates to an adapter used for accommodating a memory card and provided with a radio communication function for transmitting data stored in the memory card by radio communication to an external apparatus, and relates to a memory unit including the adapter.
To put it in detail, the present invention relates to an adapter and a memory unit including the adapter for accommodating a memory card allowing data stored in the memory unit to be transmitted with ease to an external apparatus without relaying on operations carried out on a host apparatus on which the memory unit has been mounted. More particularly, the present invention relates to an adapter used for accommodating a memory card and provided with a radio communication function for transmitting data stored in the memory card by radio communication without the need to install driver software for controlling communications in a host apparatus on which the memory unit has been mounted, and relates to a memory unit including the adapter.
Accompanying recent technological renovation, a variety of information apparatus for handling computer files has been developed and put in markets. Examples of the information apparatus are a PC (Personal Computer), a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera and a portable media player, which handle the computer files containing various kinds of media such as a text, an image and a sound. Most main information apparatus each have interfaces such as a card slot and a connector, which allow a cartridge memory device to be mounted onto the apparatus and dismounted from the apparatus with a high degree of freedom. Examples of the cartridge memory device are a memory card and a USB memory. The memory card can be one of a plurality of standard products such as a memory stick (a registered trademark) and an SD (Secure Digital) card. Generic technical term ‘memory card’ used in the following description represents a memory device that can be mounted onto and dismounted from an information apparatus.
For example, after an image taken by using a digital camera is encoded in the camera into data having a predetermined file format such as a JPEG (Joint Picture Experts Group) format or a MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) format, the data having the file format is stored in a memory card. In this case, the memory card can be used for storing a number of images that cannot be stored in a memory embedded in an information apparatus as a memory having a relatively small capacity. As the memory card is filled up with data stored therein, the memory card can be replaced with another memory card, which offers a new storage capacity for saving further taken images.
In addition, the file of an image taken by using a digital camera can be transferred to another information apparatus such as a personal computer, which is capable of carrying out image processing such as adjustment of a picture quality and re-encoding on the image, or image processing such as storing the image in a database or putting the image in an album. As an alternative, an image taken by using a digital camera can be transferred to a television receiver for displaying the image on a large screen or the file of an image can be transferred to a printer for printing out the image onto a piece of printing paper. In this way, the user can enjoy the taken image as a picture.
As a method to transfer an image (or other data) stored in a memory card already inserted into a source apparatus to another apparatus serving as a destination apparatus, in general, the memory card is pulled out from the source apparatus and mounted onto the other apparatus. As an alternative, the source apparatus containing the memory card is connected to the destination apparatus by using either of a cable and radio means, which can each be used for transferring the file of a taken image or data from the source apparatus to the destination apparatus. In particular, if the radio communication is adopted, data can be transferred without the work to set connectors and attach a cable to the connectors each time data is transferred, hence, enhancing convenience.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing typical transfers of an image by radio communication from a mobile apparatus containing a memory card to an information apparatus. In the figure, a digital camera is used as the mobile apparatus. In the digital camera, a taken image is stored in an embedded memory or an external memory card as image data. In a process to transmit the image data by radio communication, the data to be transmitted is read out from the embedded memory or the external memory card and then transmitted to the information apparatus serving as an image reproduction apparatus such as a PC, a television or a printer by way of a radio interface module. Of course, the image reproduction apparatus such as a PC, a television or a printer on the reception side also has a radio interface module serving as an adapter. After the image data is transmitted through a radio transmission line, the recipient PC displays the image and typically stores the data. In the case of a television serving as the information reproduction apparatus, the image is displayed on the screen. In the case of a printer serving as the information reproduction apparatus, the image is printed out on a piece of printing paper.
In order to carry out the data radio transmission shown in the figure, it is necessary to provide the digital camera serving as the source of transmitted data with a radio interface module. If the source of transmitted data is an apparatus having no radio interface module, it is necessary to provide the source of transmitted data with a radio interface module including typically an external adapter. In addition, as a radio transmission function used in transmission of data, Bluetooth communication or a radio LAN such as a LAN conforming to typically the IEEE802.11 standard can be assumed.
For example, external memory media having an embedded radio communication function has been proposed. For more information on such external memory media, refer to documents such as Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-77878, which is used as patent reference 1. This external memory media has a wire communication section and a short-distance radio communication section. The wire communication section is a section for exchanging data with a host apparatus, to which the external memory media is attached, by way of a physical connection section. On the other hand, the short-distance radio communication section is a section for exchanging data with a communication network by way of a short-distance radio communication network such as a Bluetooth-communication network. Thus, by mounting such external memory media on the digital camera serving as the source of transmitted data as well as serving as a host apparatus, the short-distance radio communication section included in the media can be driven to exchange data with the communication network.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of a memory card having a radio communication function. In the diagram, reference numeral 100 denotes the memory card having a radio communication function and reference numeral 101 denotes a host apparatus such as a digital camera. Reference numeral 102 denotes an external apparatus serving as a data transmission destination such as a printer or serving as a data output destination such as a television monitor.
The memory card 100 includes a flash memory 106, a memory control section 107 and a interface section 108. The flash memory 106 is a unit serving as the basic function of the memory card 100. The interface section 108 is a unit for interfacing with the host apparatus 101. The memory card 100 also has a radio section 104 for carrying out typically Bluetooth communications and a communication control section 105 for controlling the radio section 104. To be more specific, the communication control section 105 is a unit for controlling a communication protocol of radio communication. Reference numeral 103 denotes an antenna provided on the memory card 100 and reference numeral 109 denotes an antenna provided on the external apparatus 102.
Normally, the host apparatus 101 makes an access to the flash memory 106 by way of the interface section 108 and the memory control section 107 in order to store data into the flash memory 106 and read out data from the flash memory 106. In a process to transmit an image stored in the flash memory 106 to the external apparatus 102, first of all, the host apparatus 101 makes an access to the flash memory 106 by way of the interface section 108 and the memory control section 107 in order to read out data of the image from the flash memory 106. Then, the host apparatus 101 transmits the data to the external apparatus 102 serving as the data transmission destination by way of the interface section 108, the communication control section 105, the radio section 104 and the antenna 103.
In this case, in order to implement the radio communication, it is necessary to control a radio communication function according to a predetermined communication protocol such as the Bluetooth communication or the IEEE802.11 standard. In the case of the typical configuration shown in FIG. 10, in the host apparatus 101 with a radio interface module mounted thereon, it is necessary to install driver software for driving a radio communication function of the radio interface module in accordance with a protocol. By the radio interface module, the memory card 100 is implied. That is, the radio communication function of the radio interface module is the communication control section 105. Installing such driver software is a cumbersome load that must be borne by the user.
In addition, in some cases, it may be impossible to install driver software in a digital camera, other mobile apparatus or other built-in apparatus. In this case, even if external memory media including the radio communication function is mounted on the host apparatus, the radio communication function cannot be used. As a result, in order to transfer data stored in the memory card 100 to the external apparatus 102, it is necessary to adopt the conventional method whereby the memory card 100 itself must be taken to the external apparatus 102 or connect the host apparatus 101 to the external apparatus 102 by using a cable for transferring the data from the host apparatus 101 to the external apparatus 102.
On top of that, an operation related to the communication processing must be carried out through a user interface of the digital camera on which the memory card 100 has been mounted and such an operation is troublesome. An example of the operation related to the communication processing is to select a file to be transferred.
Furthermore, manufacturers of memory cards need to provide several types of memory card to form a complete line of commodities. For example, the manufacturers must produce memory cards with different storage capacities of the flash memories included therein or memory cards with or without a copyright protection function. By the same token, the manufacturers of memory cards need to provide several types of the memory card having a radio communication function. That is to say, for example, the manufacturers must produce such memory cards with different storage capacities of the flash memories or such memory cards with or without a copyright protection function.
The greater the number of commodity lines, however, the more complicated the problem faced by the manufacturers of memory cards and the heavier the load borne by the manufacturers to manage the commodities. In addition, from the user point of view, purchasing a plurality of memory cards means purchasing duplicated radio communication sections with the exactly same function, arousing a feeling to buy a product at a high price.